Sunday, November 27, 2016

Plato on Thales and the Thracian Maid

Paul Manata reminded me of the source of the story about Thales and the servant girl from Thrace.

"Thales was studying the stars and gazing into the sky, when he fell into a well, and a jolly and witty Thracian servant girl made fun of him, saying that he was crazy to know about what was up in the heavens while he could not see what was in front of him beneath his feet." (Theaetetus 174a)

I checked the reference and Paul got it right. He was inspired to provide the quotation upon reading my 'bad drivers' post below.

The whole context surrounding 174a is just marvellous, but then so is all of Plato. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, "Philosophy is Plato, and Plato philosophy." (I'd better check the quotation!)

Addendum

Sed Contra sends this from Aristotle's Politics:

The story goes that some people reproached Thales for being poor, on the grounds that it showed his philosophy was useless. But because of his knowledge of the stars, he realized there would be a bumper crop of olives in the following year. So, while it was still winter, he raised a little money and used it to secure all the olive presses in Miletus and Chios for future lease. He got them at a low rate because no one bid against him. When the olive season came, and the demand for olive presses was suddenly very heavy, he was able to sub-lease them at whatever rate he chose. He made a lot of money, thereby showing that philosophers could easily become wealthy if they wished, but that this is not something they care much about. (I.11 1259a)